The health ministry Tuesday approved the production and sale of a new medicine for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Japan, raising hopes among patients. In a doctor-led clinical trial, the drug, mecobalamin, extended the survival period of patients within a year of the onset of ALS by over 500 days, surpassing existing drugs.
A total of 509 patients in Japan gave up on organ transplant operations last year because hospitals were unable to carry out such procedures, a health ministry survey showed Tuesday. It was the first time the government conducted a fact-finding survey on the matter. A total of 3,706 people could not receive transplant operations last year, including 509 cases caused by reasons attributed to hospitals, such as the lack of hospital staff and insufficient space in intensive care units needed for operations.
Japan’s health ministry said Wednesday that puberulic acid caused kidney damage to users of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice. The acid is one of three chemical compounds detected in the supplements, while no kidney toxicity was confirmed in animal experiments from the other two compounds, the ministry said.
Obesity among men in Japan has continued to rise over the past decade, a survey by the health ministry showed Wednesday. The 2022 survey found that 31.7 pct of men aged 20 and older had a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or higher, which indicates obesity by Japanese standards. Although the obesity rate was down 1.3 percentage points from the previous research in 2019, the ministry said it has continued to rise over the past 10 years.
The number of people in Japan who were sent to hospital due to heatstroke climbed by some 20 pct in July from a year before to 43,195, the second highest level for the month since records began in 2008, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday.
Nara Medical University will begin a clinical trial in spring 2025 of artificial red blood cells made from donated blood past its shelf life that is usually discarded.
Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency is alerting sauna lovers to take precautions against accidents such as burns, stressing that some of them are fatal. Specifically, an older woman died from full-body burns she got in a home sauna and a man in his 70s died of acute circulatory failure in a sauna at a recreation facility. Another man also in his 70s fainted in a sauna at a public bath, resulting in amputation of five burned toes.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday it has newly found 11 more fatalities that should have been reported to Japan’s health ministry over possible links to supplement products containing its “beni koji” red fermented rice.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday that it has decided to pull out of its business related to “beni koji” red fermented rice, following widespread health problems blamed on its supplement products containing the substance.
The number of ambulance dispatches in Tokyo in January-July grew 4.4 pct from a year before to 542,256, highest for the seven-month period since the statistics began in 1936, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. The result is attributable mainly to an increase in people suffering from heatstroke.
Barrier Free Japan